When you have diabetes, it’s no secret that a bad diet can lead to dangerous spikes in blood sugar. This is especially dangerous for people who haven’t cooked that much for themselves before their diagnosis and aren’t very knowledgeable about nutrition and the culinary arts in general.
It’s hard enough to adjust to a new lifestyle with glucose testing, ordering things like hydrocolloid dressings or needles – it’s like having to take a med school class just to lead a normal life! Think of learning how to maintain your diet as the fun part of the diabetes experience.
This can create severe problems down the line. One of the greatest things a person with diabetes can do for themselves is to learn how to cook nutritionally and safety. It can not only help you take this condition into your own hands, but help you find a potential passion and hobby.
The diabetic diet should be well balanced and have variety. It should contain a lot of vitamin D, which are a special concern for diabetic patients because it helps to prevent heart disease – something diabetics are especially prone to.
Some important foods, vitamins and minerals to keep in mind when you’re cooking for a diabetic are:
Vitamin D – contained in eggs, meat, mushrooms, diary
Chromium – meat, nuts, dates, whole wheat flour. Chromium helps to process carbs, which can be high on the glycemic index.
High sugar fruit to be avoided – bananas, grapes and dried fruit
Fatty fish – salmon, herring, anchovies are a great source of DHA and EPA that actually cut down your inflammation. They also help your arteries.
Kale, dandelion greens and spinach – any leafy greens are a good source of minerals and vitamins. The reduce inflammatory markers and are rich in antioxidants. It’s good to explore many different types of leafy greens, such as dandelion greens, beet greens and sorel.
Eggs – while eggs are in recovery from some pretty bad rap over the past 10 years – think of them as a superfood. In a study where type 2 diabetes patients ate two eggs per day, had improvements in blood sugar levels.
Probiotics – foods like yogurt or fermented kimchi or dill pickles are powerful probiotics that may not only lead to weight loss by improving your gut fauna, but can also improve blood sugar control and heart disease risk.
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